Category Archives: Movie of the Week

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Once a week on Friday, Uncle Bardie celebrates the creativity in others by shining a Spotlight on a movie, a song or a creator. This week’s Spotlight is the movie: “Waking Ned Devine” (1998):

This little bit of an Irish movie will surely make you smile. So raise your pint to Ned Devine this upcoming St. Paddy’s Day and thank him for his good fortune. It’s almost as good as finding a Leprechaun’s pot of gold.

Once a week on Friday, Uncle Bardie celebrates the creativity in others by shining a Spotlight on a movie, a song or a creator. This week’s Spotlight is the movie “Year of the Comet” (1992):

Next Tuesday is that day. You know the one. Valentine’s Day, and what better way to celebrate it with your sweetheart than a glass of wine. Especially if it’s the world’s most valuable wine in history. $10,000 a glass valuable.The wine is called the Year of the Comet.

They say that opposites attract. Well, Penelope Ann Miller and Tim Daly are about as opposite as you can get. She is a smart wine connoisseur. He is a beer guzzling action adventure kind of guy. And, of course, the action adventure and the romance happens on the Island of Skye. Where else could it be?

Once a week on Friday, Uncle Bardie celebrates the creativity in others by shining a Spotlight on a movie, a song or a creator. This week’s Spotlight is the movie “Draft Day” (2014):

In celebration of the upcoming Superbowl Game, I thought I would throw out a different kind of football movie.

Everybody wants to fire Sonny Weaver (Kevin Costner). At least, in Cleveland. When you are the GM for Cleveland, and your team is on the skids, everybody is out to fire you. NFL Draft Day is the next day and Sonny had better deliver some splash or he ain’t going to have a job. That’s the news Sonny’s boss delivers as soon as Sonny arrives at work. For the boss, Frank Langella, it’s not about offense. It’s not about defense. It’s about selling tickets.

Everybody is evaluating every decision Sonny makes in microscopic detail. Everybody has an agenda. Everybody has an opinion, and mostly everybody’s wrong. Sonny’s opinion is the only one that counts. And Sonny puts everything on the line. So the only opinion he goes with is his gut. But he don’t always listen to his gut. If everybody would just leave him alone, he could do that.

Talk about stress. Sonny lives with stress. Fingernail chewing stress. On top of the draft, Sonny has some real personal issues to deal with. His father’s recent death and his girlfriend’s (Jennifer Garner) announcement that she is pregnant. It’s enough to kill a lesser mortal than Sonny.

Seattle calls. They want to trade their Number One spot in the draft this year. That means that Cleveland will get the latest hotshot quarterback, Bo Callahan. Well, if that ain’t some splash. So Seattle is on the phone, offering Sonny the pick of a lifetime. It’s going to cost Sonny big time.

Will Sonny take the bait? Of course, he does. Seattle has just given Sonny the splash he needs to keep his job. The owner is h. a. p. p. y. The War Room scouts are happy. Everybody is happy, except for the quarterback to be replaced and the Coach who has to coach the greatest thing since peanut butter, Bo Callahan of the Wisconsin Badgers.

The coach wants a team that will make it easy for him to win. And Bo is not on that team. His mother isn’t either. She tells him, “You sold the cow for the magic beans.”
But Bo is happy. So happy that his agent, Sean Combs, lets Sonny know, “Bo loves the cold weather.”

Then Sonny’s gut starts kicking in. He tells his War Room, “We need to find out what Bo’s something is, and see if that something matters.”

Kansas City calls. They want to make a trade. Buffalo calls and they want something. The Houston Texans are on the phone and they’re asking. Before we know it, Bo is being passed around like he’s Tom Brady’s football and it’s getting harder to find a receiver. It’s master’s chess and high stakes poker both rolled into one day that we’re seeing on the screen. Man, that’s football. That’s comedy.

Once a week on Monday, Uncle Bardie shares a movie with his Readers he gives a big two thumbs up. It will simply be a short excerpt or a trailer. Uncle Bardie might even throw in a reflection on the movie. If so, it will make an appearance below the video. So pop some popcorn and give yourself a treat. This week’s pick is “Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children” (2016)

I thought I would end with a movie I thoroughly enjoyed. Tim Burton has given me hours and hours of entertainment. Edward Scissorhands. Beetlejuice, Ed Wood, Mars Attacks, Big Fish, Alice in Wonderland and Big Eyes. All thoroughly enjoyable. I had been disappointed with Tim Burton lately. After “Dark Shadows” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, I wasn’t sure I wanted to see another of his films. Then I saw “Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children”. Hurrah, Tim Burton.

Even John Huston made some bad ones. So I forgive Tim Burton for the bad ones because of all the good ones he’s given me. Even though I did not read the book, I have to say that this is one of his good ones.

Once a week on Monday, Uncle Bardie shares a movie with his Readers he gives a big two thumbs up. It will simply be a short excerpt or a trailer. Uncle Bardie might even throw in a reflection on the movie. If so, it will make an appearance below the video. So pop some popcorn and give yourself a treat. This week’s pick is “The Peanuts Movie” (2015).

When I was a kid, the Sunday funnies were a big deal. “Dick Tracy” and Al Capp’s “Lil Abner”, “Nancy” and “Beetle Bailey”, “Alley Oop” and “Pogo”. “We have met the enemy and he is us.” That used to crack me up. Because of the Sunday funnies, everybody knew what a Dagwood Sandwich was. Tried to open our mouths and get a bite in all at once. Most of us didn’t have that big a mouth.

Al Capp’s “Lil Abner” became a musical. “Alley Oop” became a hit song by the Hollywood Argyles. And so did another comic strip. “Charley Brown” by the Coasters. “Who’s a clown, that Charley Brown.” Of course, I am talking about “Peanuts”, the comic strip that seemed like it would live forever. It almost did. It continued for fifty years.

In the sixties, there started appearing the television specials, beginning with “A Charley Brown Christmas”. That featured a wonderful score by jazz pianist Vince Guraldi. The Peanuts Gang found their way into two musicals, “You’re a Good Man, Charley Brown” and “Snoopy the Musical”. There was even a “Snoopy on Ice” Ice Capades show.

Now there is a movie bringing back all the Peanuts Gang. This one I didn’t think I would enjoy as much as I did. I gotta tell you that I liked it so much I am labelling it a two-thumber. All the kids in the Peanuts Gang are back. Lucy is doing her devilish things. Schroeder still plays Beethoven. Linus and his blankie. Peppermint Patty is still calling Charley Brown “Chuck”. Marcie still thinks Peppermint Patty is the smartest girl in the world. Snoopy is still doing battle with the Red Baron.

And, of course, the Peanuts Everyman, Charlie Brown, has a starring role. He instantly falls for the Red-haired Girl when she moves into the neighborhood. So much so he takes on a book report for her, even though it means he has to read “War and Peace”.

There is no sex or violence or car chases or trucks blown up. Just the Peanuts Gang doing what they always did, being the kids they always were. And no adults were harmed in the making of this movie. But it is still a two-thumber. How about that.

So do yourself a favor. See this one. It’s a hoot and a half. Besides it’s Christmas. What would Christmas be without Charlie Brown?